dips

Baba Ganoush is a delicious aubergine (eggplant) dip of Middle-Eastern origin. It is delicious served with flatbreads or dipping foods, such as crudites. This smoky flavoured dip is easy to make and inexpensive. Here is how to make baba ganoush.

Ingredients for Baba Ganoush

3 aubergines (eggplants)

Juice of 1 lemon

3 crushed cloves of garlic

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp tahini

1 tbsp parsley

1 tsp salt

Black pepper to taste

How to Make Baba Ganoush

Pierce the skins of three aubergines repeatedly using a fork.

Place the aubergines under the grill for around 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally. The skin should char and the flesh will feel soft.

While the aubergines are grilling, use a pestle and mortar to make a paste with the crushed garlic, pepper, lemon juice, tahini, salt and 2 tbsp of the olive oil.

Leave the aubergines to cool before cutting in half lengthways and scooping out the flesh.

Put the aubergine flesh in a bowl and combine with the paste you made in the pestle and mortar.

Mix well before transferring to a serving bowl and finishing with the remaining olive oil and a sprinkle of parsley.

When it comes to Indian food accompaniments, a raita dip is one of the most popular of all. This is really simple to make at home, so you do not have to rely on ordering some from your local takeaway. Here is how to make a tasty and refreshing raita.

Guacamole is one of the simplest dips to make as it requires no cooking skill whatsoever. It is also a good way to make use of any ripe avocados you have in your refrigerator. These are packed with nutrients, meaning they are a fantastic ingredient to include in a healthy, balanced diet. Guacamole is delicious served as an accompaniment to salads, crudites, or tortilla chips. It is perfect for a snack or as an addition to a buffet table. This dip is also cheap to make and is suitable for vegetarians. Here is how to make guacamole.

Having a dip adds an extra flavour element to a dish, is great for serving with snacks and is a good addition to a buffet. A particularly tasty one is a blue cheese dip. This is easy to make as it requires no cooking skills and is delicious served with crudites, a salad, or chicken wings. Here is how to make a quick and simple blue cheese dip.

Sad news for fans of hummus as it has recently been declared that there is a global shortage of this product. Millions of people internationally enjoy eating hummus as either a dip, a filling or an accompaniment, but they are now facing disappointment when they visit the store.

The space that is usually filled with hummus is now left bare as shopkeepers are struggling to get hold of this popular Middle Eastern dip to meet the demands of consumers. So, what has caused hummus to suddenly become unavailable?

The answer to this is easy- there are simply not enough chickpeas. The main areas that produce chickpeas have suffered from poor crops over the last 12 months and this has led to a shortage in the availability of the product.

This, in turn, has had a knock-on effect on the prices that consumers pay. As there are not enough chickpeas to meet demands, the cost of buying this product has been driven up and companies that make hummus are paying through the nose. This has led to them passing on the additional cost to consumers by hiking up the prices.

Fans of hummus can only hope that chickpea costs are better this year and there favourite Middle Eastern dip is back on the shelves soon.